Editing Genetic algorithm (section)

{{short description|Competitive algorithm for searching a problem space}}
{{Evolutionary algorithms}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
[[Image:St 5-xband-antenna.jpg|thumb|The 2006 NASA [[Space Technology 5|ST5]] spacecraft antenna. This complicated shape was found by an evolutionary computer design program to create the best radiation pattern. It is known as an [[evolved antenna]].]]
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:ESA JAXA HUMIES Trajectory.png|thumb|The ESA/JAXA interplanetary Trajectory recipient of the [http://www.genetic-programming.org/combined.php 2013 gold HUMIES ] award. This complex tour of the Jovian Moons was found with the help of an evolutionary technique based on self-adaptation]] -->
In [[computer science]] and [[operations research]], a '''genetic algorithm''' ('''GA''') is a [[metaheuristic]] inspired by the process of [[natural selection]] that belongs to the larger class of [[evolutionary algorithm]]s (EA).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Pétrowski |first1=Alain |last2=Ben-Hamida |first2=Sana |title=Evolutionary algorithms |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |page=30 |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-119-13638-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GlGpDgAAQBAJ&dq=genetic+algorithm+evolutionary+algorithms&pg=PP2}}</ref> Genetic algorithms are commonly used to generate high-quality solutions to [[Optimization (mathematics)|optimization]] and [[Search algorithm|search problem]]s via biologically inspired operators such as [[selection (genetic algorithm)|selection]], [[crossover (genetic algorithm)|crossover]], and [[Mutation (genetic algorithm)|mutation]].{{sfn|Mitchell|1996|p=2}} Some examples of GA applications include optimizing [[Decision tree learning|decision trees]] for better performance, solving [[Sudoku solving algorithms|sudoku puzzles]],<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Gerges|first1=Firas|last2=Zouein|first2=Germain|last3=Azar|first3=Danielle|title=Proceedings of the 2018 International Conference on Computing and Artificial Intelligence |chapter=Genetic Algorithms with Local Optima Handling to Solve Sudoku Puzzles |date=2018-03-12|chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1145/3194452.3194463|series=ICCAI 2018|location=New York, NY, USA|publisher=Association for Computing Machinery|pages=19–22|doi=10.1145/3194452.3194463|isbn=978-1-4503-6419-5|s2cid=44152535 }}</ref> [[hyperparameter optimization]], and [[causal inference]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Burkhart |first1=Michael C. |last2=Ruiz |first2=Gabriel |title=Neuroevolutionary representations for learning heterogeneous treatment effects |journal=Journal of Computational Science |date=2023 |volume=71 |page=102054 |doi=10.1016/j.jocs.2023.102054 |s2cid=258752823 |doi-access=free }}</ref>